have your crepe and eat it too

Sometimes you don’t want to compromise. You want the best of both worlds and you want it now. So why, I mused, should I be forced to choose between the traditional French crepe and the traditional Moroccan pancake (known as beghrir, they’re made with yeast, lighter than American pancakes and are often served with butter and honey).

the wait is over.

Well, turns out you don’t have to choose. You can have the lightness and the cute bubbly holes of baghrir and the ineffable combination of thinness and substance of a crepe. Look no further than my newest invention, Let-them-eat Crepes.

Yields 12-15 small (6″) crepes

Ingredients:

1 T yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (warm enough to run over your fingers for 10 seconds before it feels too hot)

First, proof the yeast: combine the water and yeast in a bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes or till it starts to foam.

Next, combine the eggs, butter, and salt (and sugar, if you’re using it) and mix well. Then add the yeast mixture.

Gradually whisk in the flour a little at a time.

Cover and let sit for an hour.

After an hour, add the teaspoon of lemon juice and whisk again (the extra hour should allow the flour extra time to absorb all the liquid, and your batter should have a smooth, even consistency).

Heat a small nonstick pan and butter it. Let it warm up for a few minutes before cooking your crepes.

Using medium-low heat, pour just enough batter to coat the pan and let it sit for a few minutes before flipping to cook the other side. It’s ok if there are holes in the crepes (this is supposed to happen). Re-butter your pan every few crepes or so.

holey crepe, you might say, these are tasty

They’re best eaten warm, but you can always cover them and place them in the fridge. They’ll last a few days.

Crepes are one of my all-time favorite canvases for breakfast, brunch and dinner recipes. Crepe recipes lend themselves to delegation, which means they’re a great way to have a dinner party that’s also a cooking party (a few people can man the crepe-making station while others prep the fillings).

the yeast of baghrir + the eggs of a crepe = match made in cross-cultural culinary heaven

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I study culinary history and literature in North Africa and the Arabic speaking world; this blog is a record of what happens when I put my research and passions into play at my own stove.

Many of the recipes featured here hail from the Middle East & North Africa or elsewhere in the Mediterranean, but I also love to cook anything that happens to be in season. A recipe index lists all recipes alphabetically; you can also browse by category or search for keywords below.

For less cooking and more history & literature, check out my research blog. You can read more about my work here.